Travelling With The Uchihas
by BlueLLama9
Summary: A little anthology series about the canon SasuSaku travels. There is much fluff to be found within this story. Also the occasional smut (though nothing explicit).
1. Reunion

Uchiha Sasuke thought he was imagining things. As he was wandering around the new, small town he had come across, he kept sensing an awfully familiar chakra. A chakra pulse he was sure could not be anywhere near him, but resided peacefully within his home village - Konoha. His senses were usually sharp, making very few mistakes, yet for the last hour he had the odd feeling that this all too familiar chakra was lurking around, following his every step. He was hoping his journey of atonement wasn't finally making him lose his mind.

Nodding politely at the old woman who had acknowledged his presence in front of the herb shop, he entered to replenish his supplies. In the year he had been back to Konoha after the war, Sakura had helped him learn the use of a few simple medicinal plants in case he ever found himself in a situation where he had to fend for himself with nothing but mother nature on his side. He smiled fondly at the memory. The little crease between Sakura's eyebrows as she was trying to pick out the best things to teach him was a precious memory to him still.

And it was amplified by the sensation that she was so close she might as well be breathing down his neck. Briefly, he acknowledged it might be his homesickness affecting him this much. He'd sometimes imagine hearing Naruto's obnoxious laughter, or Kakashi's never-ending stream of excuses for being late. Or the sight of pink locks flowing in the wind, seen from the corner of his eye, disappearing as soon as he tried to lay eyes on her.

Purchasing a few essentials from the old lady at the counter, he took his leave, exiting the shop and walking into the warm sun. Deciding that assessing the size and condition of the little town from somewhere above would be the best option at this point. Sasuke quickly located a hill on top of which he could do his scouting. The few trees at the top of it provided him with nice shade, and as he sat down, facing the town, the feeling of the chakra pulse suddenly intensified.

Hand on the hilt of his katana, he decided it was better to end this sooner rather than later, and if it was someone threatening, imitating the familiar chakra, they'd have to be dealt with. As he stood up, he called out to the sensation.

"I know you're there. Just come out already."

It took a few moments for there to be any movement. Then it took a few minutes for his brain to register what he was seeing. He always noticed her pink hair first. It was one of the most unique things about her. Like a beautiful creature come to life from an old mythology book, she stood there, her hair blowing in the gentle wind, with her green eyes wide, lips slightly parted and breathing heavily.

"Sasuke...-kun." she spoke softly.

"Sakura." was his reply, and with it, a sort of tenseness from his shoulders disappeared completely.

He stared blankly at her for a few more moments, unsure as to what to say. How did she find him? And more importantly, what was she doing here? In the year they spent together, she must have learned to read him pretty well, because she answered before he spoke even one word.

"You're not that hard to track if you know exactly what to look for." her expression softened as she spoke, a playful smirk appearing on her lips.

It wasn't even his intention, but before knowing it, Sasuke took a few steps closer, until Sakura had to bend her neck and look up at him. He could see every molecule of skin on her face, every little ounce of red spread along her cheeks. Having learned so much about the world, about people, having been freed from such hatred, the feeling of relief flooded Sasuke instantly and was stopped by no barriers. He had missed her more that he dared acknowledge.

Almost as if drawn to him by a natural force, Sakura's hands reached up to Sasuke's cloak, grabbed a fistful of it and raised herself on her toes, her heavy breathing hot on his lips. Flustered and blushing, shaking slightly, yet bravely initiating a kind of interaction they'd never had before. Sasuke could not help but smile a little at how much bolder she'd gotten. Ever since he came back she tip toed around him a little, afraid of doing something wrong that would put him off. He'd felt guilty about it, but it seemed that two more years apart erased all fears. Or at least, the feeling he saw in her eyes erased everything else inside both of them.

Hand acting on its own, he grabbed the small of her back, pulling her against him and raising her up slightly, lowering his own head until their lips were touching gently. It felt like taking the first real breath after nearly drowning. Her lips tasted like berries, and were soft against his own as they began to move more forcefully. Two years apart with almost no contact made Sasuke - and no doubt Sakura as well - feel as if they had to make up for lost time. It turned the kiss into such an intense action it was almost violent. His hand kept pulling her so close it almost felt like they'd mold together somehow, yet it was still not enough, and only when he remembered he had to breathe did he pull away slightly and looked at her face.

It became obvious how much shorter than him she was. His back and head both bent to look her in the eyes, still close to her flushed face. The height difference, for whatever strange reason, made Sasuke's stomach flip in a delightful way. It made him see her from a completely different angle. It also made him realize they'd just kissed for the first time.

"I didn't expect a greeting like that." she said, looking away shyly, her hands still holding onto his cloak.

"I... " he had no response or excuse for his impulses, and he was still learning how to deal with these sort of emotions, so he opted for changing the topic. "What are you doing here, Sakura?"

Worry replaced the earlier bliss he could see on her face. Briefly, Sasuke panicked that something terrible had happened back in Konoha. A thousand horrible scenarios entered his mind and took root inside of him. An attack. Death. Destruction. A new war brewing, a new enemy to worry about. The chaotic thoughts were silenced however by Sakura's quiet admission.

"I couldn't stay away anymore." it was barely a whisper.

Taking a few steps back from him, Sakura awkwardly threw a backpack on the ground - one Sasuke hadn't even noticed before - and stared at it, waiting for some kind of response. Away from him, she meant? Her worry would make sense then, seeing as he advised her not to come along when he originally left. Still having the taste of her in his mouth, he wondered why the hell he'd do that. But then he remembered the terrible things he'd done, or at least wanted to do. He remembered his hand against her throat. It was one of the things that pained him so much he wanted to scream.

"I told you before, Sakura. This is something I have to do on my own. I have to atone for everything I've done, and we both know that's a lot of things." he said half heartedly.

He wasn't even sure why he was protesting. Perhaps it was just an old habit. It was easier to deal with things alone. It was easier, or maybe just familiar, to come across something that reminded him of his family, or a piece of information that put everything into perspective, and hurt on his own for a little while because of how ignorant he used to be. How hateful. He couldn't imagine showing that to someone else. He couldn't imagine ripping Sakura away from her home, either.

"Would I be an inconvenience? Is that what you're saying?"she asked, although even she didn't seem to believe that was the meaning behind his words.

"You know that's not it."

Did she though? He'd never allowed her to see too far inside. She knew his darkness, she saw it, she fought it and cried over it. Did she know it had left so many marks inside of him he was afraid, some days, that it wasn't entirely gone?

"Here is what I know, Uchiha Sasuke. I know you left the village when we were little, and I know why you did it. I know you've been to hell and back. I know you were gone for so many years some days I'd forget the sound of your voice. I know you did things to me I perhaps shouldn't have forgiven, but above all, I know you said you were sorry, did you not?"

It seemed like such a pitiful word to describe the way his insides twisted whenever he remembered what he'd done to those who loved him when there was nothing of him left to love. Sorry didn't even begin to cover the way he wished, so intensely, that whatever harm might come upon this tiny, pink haired creature would come directly onto him.

"I'm more than sorry." he managed to mumble.

"Then stop leaving me. Your sins may be your own, but you don't have to bear them by yourself. See you next time, right? Next time is now, Sasuke-kun. Let me walk beside you. Let me see the world with you, let me know you. Let me love you properly, Sasuke-kun, because God knows that will never stop."

The first time she's said it, it hurt. It hurt because he had to leave it behind him, and it felt like it had to be forever. The second time it hurt even more, because everything inside of him was twisted and angry and he'd felt her warmth before, when she hugged him, as well as when he was trying to draw it out of her by force. It hurt to say no, and to walk away into a path that seemed right. Who was he kidding. To walk away into the only path he thought possible. But wasn't she here giving him the option to choose better? Maybe distancing himself from his team, even now, was another one of his mistakes. The problem with the still too confused Uchiha was how to express some of his thoughts out loud, since they seemed loud enough inside his own head.

"Well, I was planning to look for an inn. We'll be spending the night here, but no more than that." was a blunt enough response.

The smile that broke free on her face melted and put everything inside of Sasuke back together all at once.

* * *

Sasuke forgot how much Sakura liked to talk. Hearing her voice after such a long time made him feel like he was at home. She described everything that had happened in the last two years in great detail, making him feel almost as if he was there himself. Naruto's wedding, in particular, he missed because his invitation somehow got lost. It made him a little sad he was not able to attend, but Sakura was descriptive enough about the idiot's behaviour once he'd a had a few drinks that the sadness went away for the most part.

The town had one small yet incredibly beautiful inn. The wooden structure was kept in excellent condition by its owners, who welcomed the pair warmly. It was still quite early, barely past noon, so the intention for now was just to check in and make sure they had rooms to sleep in later on at night. Well, one room, according to the innkeeper. It appeared to be a busy time for travellers and inns alike. It didn't help that the young woman made a few remarks towards them, quite obviously assuming them to be a couple. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura protested.

After having paid for the room, Sakura proposed they find a place to eat, seeing as, according to her, tracking him was exhausting and made her hungry. It seemed odd to think about the fact that she had just joined him, not too long ago, yet it felt like the most natural thing to have her decide it was time to go eat. Sasuke shook his head, wondering why he was even surprised at this point by the familiarity between the two. He bit his lip briefly, remembering exactly how familiar they'd gotten. It hadn't escaped his attention how she watched him do it, and how she tried to hide her smile afterwards.

They hadn't walked for too long, until they found a place to settle into and share a meal. The whole time, Sakura pestered Sasuke to fill her in, insisting it was his turn to tell her everything there was to know. So he'd told her. He told her about what it was like to look at a completely unfamiliar place from up above, from the edge of a cliff that loomed above what seemed like the whole world. What it felt like to have people thank him for small gestures of kindness, like holding baskets for them and fixing a roof. What it felt like to see life and death, all part of natural cycles. Even more importantly, he struggled to tell her what it felt like to know the Uchiha crest on his back left all the people he'd encountered with fond memories, not bloody ones. By the end of the story - one he never imagined he'd enjoy telling - he felt more peaceful, and a lightness in his chest.

Afterwards, all they did was walk and talk. It was like once he started he couldn't stop. It felt so good to have Sakura beside him, someone who simply _knew_. Brushing against her from walking so close, having the urge to hold her hand, telling her about things he hadn't talked about ever before. It was too wonderful for words. So wonderful that eventually he did take her hand and didn't dare let go of it until the moon was high up in the sky and they decided it was actually time to get some rest.

The young woman from earlier had been replaced by a much older man who directed them towards the last available room, after which he took his leave, allowing Sasuke and his companion to settle in.

The room was quite barren, having only a relatively large futon, a few lanterns and a small drawer. The two agreed it was more than enough for a single night, and began to settle their belongings around the room. Before long the lanterns had been extinguished, the only light coming from the moon, and Sasuke and Sakura laid beside each other on the futon, prepared for a full night's sleep. Or not.

Nervousness hung heavily in the air, coming from both of them. Sasuke could sense Sakura shifting from one position to the other every few seconds, and he himself felt jumpy. Memories of their earlier kiss conjured up a new kind of tension he felt between him and Sakura. At first, he'd tried to brush it off as something he did impulsively upon seeing her for the first time in forever. He had known, of course, from a very long time ago he'd loved her in a different way he'd loved the rest of his team, or his family. He'd known he loved her in a way that made him want to kiss her until his lips were raw. He just never had the chance to properly acknowledge that until now. Yet again, it seemed as if Sakura had read his mind.

"I think... it's best we talk about what happened earlier."

She turned towards him, her face illuminated only by a faint light, almost covered entirely by their blanket. Her eyes almost betrayed everything she felt, at least when it came to him. A terrible quality to have as a ninja, yet an incredible one to have when dealing with Sasuke who often dared not ask questions of an emotional nature.

"All I know is I wanted to do it since I first laid eyes on you."

Funnily enough, she nodded very seriously, as if she'd just heard a very good battle strategy.

"Do you want to do it again? I mean, do you want this to become a thing between us?"

It helped Sasuke that, for the first time, she seemed as awkward as him talking about her feelings and their relationship. It made it easier to be awkward in return.

"I've learned many things since you first told me you loved me. How to deal with this is not one of them."

"This?" she asked.

In response, he moved his arm beneath the covers, found one of hers and moved it slowly towards his chest, placing it right where his heartbeat could be felt best. It was beating faster than it ever had in battle. It was beating like it wanted to escape and jump in the palm of her hand, right where it belonged. After a few moments of stillness and silence, she'd done exactly the same thing with his hand, and it seemed like her heart was just as erratic.

"I know sometimes I might want to kiss you, or touch you, and if you'll allow me I'll do just that. I want to keep you safe and show you everything I've discovered about this world. I know that, since you chose me, I want to choose you back, Sakura." he said, although the last part was untrue, since he'd chosen her a long time ago without even knowing.

At this she simply smiled, her eyes lighting up, her whole expression changing. Sasuke worried it might not be enough, this confusing mess of emotions he spilled out for her, but she understood perfectly.

"And all I know, and all that matters to me, is that I love you."

She said it so confidently. Snuggling closer to him, releasing his hand and allowing it to wrap protectively around her, she buried herself under the blankets and so close to him he wasn't sure she would still be able to breathe. All he could do, all he was capable of doing in that moment was hold her as tightly as possible, bury his own face in her hair and say very, very quietly:

"And all I know is that I've always loved you too."


	2. Sharing Names

AN: I will be turning this into an anthology series, each chapter being its own little thing, completely out of order so, if anyone has any suggestions as to which part of their travels they want to see me write about, feel free to suggest and I will try to toy around with the idea. This following chapters is a lil' bit of fluff, a lil' bit of smut. Enjoy.

* * *

It was, in many ways, completely spontaneous. Unlike with most people, there was little to no ceremony about it, and it felt more like confirming an already stated fact. Time had passed so fast since Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura had originally started travelling together, that they could not justify to themselves how well over a year since their reunion was now behind them. It merely felt like a heartbeat.

And so, one day, which was like many others, a simple, comforting routine, Sasuke spat out the lump from his throat along with the words:

"Why don't we just do it?"

Being so incredibly vague, Sakura's thoughts immediately traversed to an entirely different matter, and though they had been together for so long now, the bluntness she thought he was showing made her face a more intense colour than her hair.

"S-Sasuke-kun, we're in the middle of a market," was all she could say, shyly.

Sasuke himself could not help but laugh at his inability to express this one thought clearly, realizing what Sakura was thinking. He had become accustomed to how perceptive she was of his moods, sometimes almost reading his thoughts. Of course, he thought to himself, she couldn't magically know what he was talking about.

Pulling her aside, away from the crowd, he took a few deep breaths to calm down his erratic heart. Unsure of himself, now that he was considering the proposal more carefully, he reluctantly started explaining himself.

"I meant- " he stopped himself, unsure as to how to word it "-we've been mistaken to be husband and wife so many times. Most of the time, actually, so… Why not do it officially? It seems natural, in some way."

It was perhaps the least romantic proposal Haruno Sakura had ever heard, and the methodical way it was spoken in almost made her laugh. Problem was, there was no room for laughing. There was no room for anything other than the size of her heart, which seemed to have grown around a thousand times in size and was threatening to violently jump out of her chest. In Uchiha Sasuke's own words, it seemed only natural that she become his wife. The implications were too much even for her sharp mind to process immediately.

Sasuke, on the other end of the situation, could only see her wide eyes and mouth, forming a perfect O. He couldn't help but doubt, for one second, and think back on his clan's reputation. Perhaps this wasn't the best of ideas after all.

"We obviously don't have to do it right away, or at all, really, it just occurred to me not long ago and I was just…" he trailed off, feeling stupid for bringing it up.

Silence stretched over what seemed to be entire years. Sakura had remained so silent that Sasuke, at this point, was worried he had truly offended her somehow. Though finally, she looked up at him with an expression he had never seen before on her face. Entirely composed and in a calm voice, all that Sakura could say was:

"Uchiha Sakura."

Her acceptance was, just like his proposal, entirely unique and unconventional. The way she'd attached his family name to her own. The tone of her voice, the smile spreading across her face, so large her cheeks surely hurt. All of it screamed "yes" in a way the word itself had no chance of properly conveying.

It took the shortest trip into the nearest village to officiate the affair. Somehow they had both been overtaken by a sense of urgency. So much so that without stopping at an inn, without bothering to even wear something other than their dust covered clothes, they rushed over to the nearest building where they could sign the papers which would bond them – as if this weren't already the case – for the rest of their lives. And while writing down her signature, Sakura immediately knew what Sasuke meant by natural progression. As spontaneous as it all was, the moment they were done, they both felt as if they had only deepened what was already there.

Stepping outside of the building, the air of pride and content radiating off of both of them was nearly palpable.

"Husband," Sakura said teasingly, "I think I want us to camp out tonight. Near that river we saw coming into the village."

They day had been terribly hot, and the running around as if their lives depended on it did not help the situation at all. So, naturally, both of them had already started walking in the direction of the water, holding hands along the way, for the first time, as husband and wife.

The bank of the river looked divine, with the fading sunlight illuminating the blades of intensely green grass, the tall and dense trees and the surface of the clean, running water. Even the air smelled sweeter. One look at the area and the Uchihas both set their backpacks near the thick trunk of a tree, and begun staring longingly towards the water.

"The water must still be warm from the day's heat," said Sasuke in a quiet voice.

Sakura nodded slowly, unzipping her top and laying it neatly on the grass near their packs. Soon enough they were both undressed, the last rays of sunlight washing their skin in a gentle kind of warmth. Stepping into the river, Sakura felt immense relief at the feeling of lukewarm water cleansing her skin. She felt her now long hair ticking her chest as it was flowing with the stream of the water. Looking back to see if Sasuke had gotten in, she couldn't help but giggle at her tall companion, the water barely reaching his chest.

He was stepping towards her with clear purpose. And she could certainly not pretend like she didn't have the same kind of thoughts in mind when picking this location for their camp. The pretence of a bath was lost as soon as Sasuke bent down to capture Sakura's lips, wrapping his arm around her back and pressing her as close to his own body as humanly possible.

The Fifth Shinobi war could have broken out next to them right there in the middle of the river, and neither Sasuke nor Sakura would have noticed in that moment. Intimacy had been shared before, in varying doses, all over the world that they now walked together, but today it would be different. Today it would mean something different to both of them, even though nothing much has changed except a name on a piece of paper. A name they now shared.

Sakura raised herself on the tips of her toes, wrapping both arms around Sasuke's neck and responding to the kiss happily, smiling into every movement his lips made.

"Someone seems happy today," he said, with a smile of his own, looking down at her.

"I happen to have gotten married today, if you must know," she responded teasingly.

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow, "I might have done the exact same thing."

She laughed into their next kiss, pushing herself up a little and wrapping her legs around his waist, clinging to his body as Sasuke walked backwards towards a more shallow patch of water. He sat down a little roughly, too focused on Sakura to pay attention to anything else. Sasuke now moved his arm to cup her face, stopping for a moment to look at her up and down, and marvel at everything from her messy hair to the scar near her belly button. Eyes returning up to her face, he stroked her cheek lightly and spoke softly.

"Uchiha Sakura."

Her smile returned to the ridiculous size from when she originally spoke the name herself.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Two names. Two names that in hundreds of years might not mean anything, even to the history they helped shape. Two names that bonded them in a way that distance, nor suffering, nor death could ever erase. It was a bond that signified a certain closeness that could not be replicated by anything else. Though at that very moment, both of the Uchihas felt an urgency to also create a physical bond to match it.

Never once taking their eyes off each other, Sakura unwrapped her legs from around Sasuke's waist and shifted her position slowly. Now straddling him, she took him in her hand, smiling at how hard he was, feeling the possessiveness and pride associated with knowing that he reacted this way to her alone, and guided him into her. They resumed kissing, as well as moving against each other. And at first, the movements were awkward, both of them being overwhelmed with the intensity of what was taking place. It felt, for the long moments that passed, that they could simply not get close enough to each other no matter the fact that each particle of skin from one was touching the other.

After a time of silence and what almost seemed like a battle to morph into one being, their names were the only sounds loud enough to linger in the air. Coming from each other's mouths, the wind carried the promises spoken in the form of their names. The pleasure associated with their intimacy. The love associated with why they were sharing such a moment. The future they now swore to share.

"Sasuke, I-" Sakura moaned, her head now in the crook of his neck, both arms wrapped tightly around his back.

"I know," he breathed back, "me too."

And in the same breath he could feel her stop her movements, shaking with the pleasure that overcame her. His own orgasm was not far behind, making him dig his fingers into her back as hard as he'd felt her own nails dig into his shoulders. Neither of them wanted to, nor were they sure that they could move.

Sasuke began playing with Sakura's long strands of hair, ignoring the chill from the cold air brought on by night time. Feeling her breasts against his own chest, moving slowly as she took deep breaths that he could feel warming the skin of his neck, Uchiha Sasuke was quite sure that, the rest of the world be damned, he'd never do anything else with his life other than embrace her. Embrace his wife.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Mhm," he responded lazily.

"I do think we still need to wash up and actually set camp up," she said, clearly dreading the idea.

Pulling back from him, she stole one more kiss before allowing herself to drift back into the deeper water, smiling at him. Joining her, it took more control than he'd ever thought he could have to not pull her towards him again, though he knew they had all the time in the world to be together. To sleep together, and laugh together. To be a family.

The thought shook him. And it did not escape Sakura's notice how his shoulders tensed up for a moment. The weight of what happened today was more than either of them could process. Especially for the Uchiha who, for years now, did not have what would be considered a family. Of course, his team was no less than that because of the lack of blood ties. But now, with Sakura wearing his name, they formed something they had both been longing for. For different reasons, but with the same love and intensity.

"Uchiha Sakura," he spoke again, only after having finished setting up camp, and laying down next to his wife, now fully clothed and warmed up.

"Yes… dear?" she asked reluctantly, playing with the word, tasting the feel of it on her tongue.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her, ready to fall asleep and wake up to the feeling they both hoped would never go away. He didn't say it out loud, but he only spoke her name because he liked hearing it too much. She didn't need to be told. She'd turned it into a song in her own head way before they'd even signed the papers.


	3. Feverish Mission

**Author's Note:** A huge thank you to Omgsakuraqueen for suggesting the prompt for this one. Namely, Sasuke protecting Sakura from a potential enemy who wants to harm her.

* * *

The fever had taken her a day earlier. Being close enough to the village they had wanted to reach, Sakura insisted they don't camp and waste more time, but rather power through the storm and find a comfortable inn to rest. Sasuke had endured worse than heavy rain, so he agreed. Now, safely tucked away under a blanket, Sakura was shaking with a high fever and sniffing continuously. All of her physical strength and medical expertise easily made both of them forget she was, after all, only human.

"Sasuke-kun? Do we have another blanket?" she croaked, opening her eyes briefly.

Shaking his head slightly, Sasuke took off his cloak, placed it on top of her blanked and then crawled into bed next to her, pressing her close to his own warm body and rubbing his hand on her back. The faint pulse of her chakra, working towards healing her body, was like a heartbeat, engulfing all of his senses. Moving her arms to wrap them around Sasuke, Sakura sighed deeply into his chest. Whenever he embraced her, she almost quite literally melted into his touch, which proved to Sasuke that perhaps he was too much of a greedy person. He never wanted to stop doing it.

"We still need to go look for the document in the morning," she spoke softly after a time of being silent.

"It can wait until you're better," Sasuke replied instantly.

"No, it cannot and you know it," she replied, leaving no room for a retort.

Ever since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Sasuke had considered quite seriously what Kaguya's army could have been for. She clearly had an enemy to defeat she had been preparing for all that time, even before her resurrection. A week ago, while visiting a sweet shop Sakura had insisted on buying an entire bag of goods from, they overheard talk of a forbidden scroll that had been stolen by lowly thieves wanting to make a buck off of it. That particular bit of information didn't interest them beyond the point of brief curiosity. However, one of the men discussing it let it slip that the document was supposed to be sealed because of its relation to an Ōtsutsuki goddess.

And so, following the trail of mere rumours, the Uchihas landed themselves in this situation. Not sure exactly why, Sasuke had felt, all the way coming here, that there was an urgency to discovering any new information about Kaguya and her plans. As if the world, while at peace currently, would not be quite safe unless he managed to discover what the real threat currently laying in wait truly was.

"I can feel you worrying, Sasuke-kun. Stop. I'll be healing myself through the night. I'll feel better by morning."

Scooting even closer, she reached out her neck to place a soft kiss on his jaw, then she tucked her head in between Sasuke's face and his shoulder. Feeling her slow breath on the skin of his neck relaxed him somewhat, and before he knew it, though his arm was going numb from Sakura's weight on it, he managed to also drift away into a dreamless sleep.

Come morning, her skin was still too warm, and her voice a little ragged, but as always she insisted that it wasn't enough to stop them from doing what they were supposed to do. Making their way to the outskirts of the village, where they heard the band of thieves would try to sell of this new valuable merchandise, they were on high alert for any kind of whisper that they were headed in the right direction. The atmosphere was certainly different from the heart of the village, where they had previously been. Hostility was palpable here. Even those who didn't seem in the business of doing illegal things shot daggers out of their eyes at the two strangers passing through the dusty roads.

One particular man caught Sasuke's attention. He seemed to be a civilian, terrible at being subtle and hiding his emotions. He was waiting in front of a worn down building, fidgeting constantly with a small paper in his hand, as well as occasionally touching the knife he kept in his front pocket. He also carried a bag out of which a piece of parchment peeked out of. Sasuke and Sakura pretended to be interested in a poorly kept weapon shop standing right beside the apparently abandoned building the man was waiting on front of, chatting aimlessly about the shape of different blades and how silly they looked.

While travelling, neither of the Uchihas wore their Konoha headbands, Sasuke keeping it tied to his belt, which was almost always hidden beneath a cloak, and Sakura's being tucked safely inside of her hip pouch. Sasuke decided to flash his headband, making it look like an accident though making sure the man saw the scratched out Konoha symbol. His reaction to it was alarm. Panic. And just as he was about to clearly bolt, two more men approached him, one carrying what looked like a bag filled with coins. Making their way around the corner, Sasuke focused on the sounds of their footsteps, and clearly heard a door open and them men enter from the other side. Glancing at Sakura, who was equally aware of the situation, he gave her a brief nod, after which they followed the men quietly.

Tip toeing around the building, the Uchihas glanced through the windows, making sure to remain unseen and unheard. The men inside seemed to have met with a number of others, judging by the chakra signatures inside, and aside from the civilian there were four shinobi. Hardly a challenge for him and Sakura, but Sasuke did glance towards her, concerned, noticing how she swayed ever so slightly when she paused to check yet another window. Quiet whispers were becoming angry ones, the tones becoming harshest when discussing numbers – what Sasuke suspected was the negotiation for the scroll's price.

Finding a window which was completely open and easy for them to get in through, they did just that, praying the old, wooden floor would not creak and alert the others of their presence. In such a situation, being outnumbered, element of surprise might as well be vital, even if their opponents seemed weak enough. Navigating the dark rooms quietly, the Uchihas stopped, learning against the wall, near the door of the room the voices seemed to be coming from. Sasuke glanced back at Sakura, whose breathing was a bit too rapid. He briefly touched his hand to her face and raised his eyebrows, to ask if she was okay and ready. She placed her hand on top of his, smiling gently and nodding.

Within the time of one full heartbeat, when the discussion inside of the other room seemed to become even more heated, the two shinobi quickly entered the room, each knocking out one of the two enemies whose backs were to the door and closest to it. The civilian holding the scroll avoided Sasuke's elbow, though he wasn't really trying to hit the man, merely frighten him enough to stay out of the fight. His attention immediately went to the man who was previously holding the bag of coins, who had taken out a sword and positioned himself to fight. Sasuke's own katana was out in no time, and the two men were immediately engaged in a fast exchange of blows. Sasuke's enemy was getting tired quickly, his breathing erratic and panic evident on his expression, not knowing how to deal with Sasuke's speed and strength. Thrusting desperately at Sasuke, his only chance of even scratching the Uchiha was that he kept glancing back at the fight going on behind him, where Sakura, slowed somewhat by her illness, was fighting the other shinobi. The man Sasuke was battling was mediocre at best, but he was observant and thought quickly enough to take Sasuke by surprise. Making it seem as if he was going to throw a kunai at the Uchiha, he merely aimed right behind him, towards Sakura, whose yelp of pain immediately alarmed Sasuke.

Mercy vanishing from every molecule of his being, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, thrust at the man in front of him with his katana, and predicting the way the man was trying to dodge, he aimed for the dead man's chest, missing by an inch simply because the man, in his panic slipped and began falling backwards. No other thought was spared to the fallen enemy. Sasuke removed his katana and immediately switched places with a small rock behind Sakura's enemy, his Rinnegan also at work, and thrust the back of his katana forward, hitting the man square on the head, knocking him out. Only the sound of his head hitting the wall, followed by the thud of his body falling on the ground remained.

One second was spared to look at the abandoned bag on the ground, still holding the scroll. The civilian was nowhere to be seen, and right now Sasuke could not care less. He dropped his katana and rushed forward to grab hold of Sakura's arm, examining it closely where the kunai managed to scratch her. It was shallow, Sakura having managed to dodge it for the most part.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, surprised at how he had suddenly finished off their opponents.

"They hurt you," was Sasuke's only response.

"They were weak Sasuke-kun, this wasn't necessary."

"They _hurt_ you, Sakura."

Small hand in a fist, she playfully hit him on the forehead with her knuckles, calling him an idiot for being so overprotective, but smiling nonetheless. Even he began to feel foolish when, immediately after the fact, Sakura began healing her arm, and it took mere seconds for the wound to be completely closed up. She was one hell of a kunoichi, but that was the last thing on Sasuke's mind when hearing the sound of her pain. He bent down, to pick up the discarded bag, and coming back up, he leaned towards Sakura, placing a kiss on where the wound had previously been, staining his lips with a little blood. She gave him a strange look, wiping the blood off his lips with her thumb, but then shook her head at him affectionately, reaching her hand out so that he would give her the scroll.

"I can recognize some of the symbols, so this is definitely what we're looking for," she said, looking over the ancient writing, "but it needs to be decoded. I'm not familiar with almost any of these letters."

Looking over her shoulder at it, Sasuke was also left confused by the array of new symbols. Taking the scroll back from her, he tucked it safely back into the bag and they both left the wretched place, stepping back outside. The whole ordeal was done with in a relatively short time, but Sasuke could see Sakura was still not well and exhausted by the battle. Fighting off the urge to simply pick her up and run with her back towards the inn, he simply took her hand and walked with her slowly back towards the center of the village. He knew he had been ridiculous back there, and this retrieval mission was as simple as they got with two shinobi of their caliber. He simply could not shake off this feeling of protectiveness. Sasuke knew that if Sakura butted into every one of his battles on the presumption he needed protecting, he'd be annoyed at the very least, even knowing she'd be simply concerned. Why couldn't he afford her the same treatment he wanted?

"I'm not mad," she said, reading his mind for the millionth time.

"I'm sorry. You know I know you're strong."

Sighing deeply, she squeezed his hand.

"I know. I appreciate it, Sasuke-kun. I do. But if you always help me, if you're always there to take over before things even get hard, I'll stagnate. I have every intention of improving as a shinobi, so please let me make my mistakes, just like I let you make yours."

It was a fair point, he knew. And he would try his best to respect her wishes, but a pang of guilt hit him, knowing he might sometimes intervene without even thinking about it. Sakura's clear laugh interrupted his thoughts, and looking back down at her, he was met with her amused gaze. Stopping, and pulling at his hand to stop as well, she reached up on her toes and kissed him sweetly, grabbing with her free hand at his cloak to keep herself steady. Her lips lingered for a while, after which she bit his lower lip ever so slightly, but enough to make him wince a little.

"But, as I said, I do appreciate it," she said before kissing him again.


End file.
